A Sunday Gathering on Spokane's South Hill
South Hill Bible Church sits at 958 E 29th Avenue in Spokane, Washington, a few blocks east of the long ridge that gives the city's South Hill neighborhood its name. Every Sunday morning the building fills with coffee, conversation, and the steady hum of Bible classes before the 10:00 AM worship service begins. The congregation is non-denominational, evangelical, and elder-led, and its mission is summed up in three words posted throughout the building: Win, Build, Send.
Worship at SHBC is described as convergent, a single service that pairs musical worship with expository preaching from the pulpit. Visitors are welcomed by name, handed a worship bulletin with the day's lyrics and Scripture readings, and pointed toward coffee on the patio before the service. The fellowship spills from the Sanctuary into a Fellowship Hall that also serves as an overflow seating area when attendance is high.
What a First-Time Visit Looks Like
The morning rhythm at South Hill Bible Church begins earlier than the worship service. Coffee and fellowship are set up on the patio at 8:30 AM. Bible classes for every age, from nursery through adult, start at 8:45 AM and run until 9:45 AM. The worship service begins at 10:00 AM in the Sanctuary.
Two adult Bible classes meet during the Sunday school hour: one in the Fellowship Hall and another in Rooms 203-204 (called HomeBuilders). The Fellowship Hall class is currently walking through the book of Genesis. Children's classes are organized by age group in dedicated rooms on the main floor, with a nursery available for parents of infants and toddlers. During summer months an intergenerational Bible class replaces the usual age-based schedule, and full children's classes resume in September.
Children are not expected to sit still through the entire worship service. Wee Kids' Worship is available during the service for children ages 2-5, and children in kindergarten through 6th grade are dismissed roughly 30 minutes into the service for Kids Worship. Both programs run from September through mid-June.
Parking is available in the main lot off 30th Avenue between Arthur and Garfield Streets, with secondary parking on the west side of the Super 1 Foods parking lot next door. Visitors who cannot make it in person can tune in through the church's online platform or watch archived services on the SHBC YouTube channel.
A Spokane Congregation for Eight Decades
South Hill Bible Church began with a small gathering in the home of Rev. Dr. Henry A. Van Winkle on October 21, 1946. It was officially organized as South Hill Christian Church on January 16, 1947, denominationally affiliated at that time with the Disciples of Christ. Dr. Van Winkle pastored the young fellowship in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Fosberg until his sudden death from a heart attack on January 25, 1948.
Plans for a permanent home moved forward under Rev. Rex R. Dallas, who was called as pastor in September 1948. Ground was broken on April 1, 1951, the cornerstone was set on June 25 of that year, and the completed sanctuary was dedicated on April 27, 1952. An educational wing was added in 1953. The sanctuary was built in memory of Dr. Van Winkle, who had died three years before the building project began. Rev. Dallas himself passed away from a heart attack in January 1951, before the building was completed.
Under Rev. Clay Cooper's leadership from 1965 to 1975, the church began to take on a non-denominational flavor and a strong emphasis on world missions. Rev. Tom W. Roop continued that direction during his first tenure, and during the pastorate of Rich Lee the church's name was changed from South Hill Christian Church to South Hill Bible Church. The name has stuck ever since. Pastor Sonny Westbrook followed in 1989 and served until 2007, with Pastor Ron Lowery bridging to 2011. The current pastor, John Underhill, began his ministry at SHBC in August 2011.
The building has grown alongside the church. A Fellowship Hall was added to the south end of the complex in the late 1960s and was expanded and remodeled in 2004-2005. A house east of the church (the Blue House) was purchased in 1997, the Brick House just west of the main building was acquired in 2008 and has been remodeled several times since, and the West Wing next door at 923 E 30th Avenue was purchased in 2005 and opened in 2006. The sanctuary, office, and education wings were renovated in 2001, and additional properties continue to be acquired as the church plans for the future.
What South Hill Bible Church Believes
SHBC describes itself as a Bible church, a non-denominational church, an evangelical church, and a community church. It is governed by a Board of Elders drawn from the congregation.
The church's doctrinal statement affirms the Bible as the verbally inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God, consisting of the 39 Old Testament and 27 New Testament books. It teaches one triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It confesses the deity of Jesus Christ, his virgin birth, his substitutionary death for sin, his bodily resurrection, and his personal and imminent return. Salvation is by grace through faith in Christ alone, not by works, and the saved are eternally kept by the power of God. The church practices two ordinances: baptism by immersion (whenever possible) and the Lord's Supper.
The statement also affirms the historic Christian view of marriage as a lifelong relationship between one man and one woman and identifies sexual activity outside that bond as sin. On the timing of Christ's return, the statement affirms a premillennial view while allowing room for differing perspectives within that framework.
Win, Build, Send: The Three-Fold Mission
The mission of South Hill Bible Church is organized around the three words seen on banners around the building.
- Win people to Christ through individual and corporate outreach.
- Build up new believers to maturity in their faith, and strengthen the faith of mature believers, through teaching, fellowship, accountability, and developing the next generation of Christian leaders.
- Send believers out into the mission field, whether that is their own family, neighborhood, workplace, city, or another country.
The vision statement draws on Colossians 1:27: Christ in you, the hope of glory. The church frames its work as a response to the Great Commission and the Great Commandment, carried out through prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit.
Children and AWANA Clubs
The children's ministry aims to help children believe, understand, know, love, and follow Jesus, partnering with parents in the spiritual training of their kids. Bible classes run from two-year-olds through sixth grade during the Sunday school hour. Wee Kids' Worship (ages 2-5) and Kids Worship (kindergarten through sixth grade) take place during the 10:00 AM service.
Wednesday nights belong to AWANA, an international, non-denominational children's ministry founded in 1950 whose name comes from 2 Timothy 2:15: Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed. AWANA at SHBC runs Wednesday evenings from 6:15 to 8:00 PM for children in kindergarten through sixth grade. Middle and high school students (Trek and Journey) meet on Monday nights from 6:30 to 8:30 PM.
An AWANA meeting has three parts: game time with team competition, large group time with a Bible lesson and music, and handbook time focused on Scripture memorization and awards. Additional activities include Bible Quiz, the AWANA Grand Prix, Sparks-a-Rama, and a week-long summer camp. All AWANA volunteers are background-checked and trained, and the church offers financial assistance for dues and materials so no child is turned away.
Frontline Youth Ministry
Students in grades 6-12 are part of Frontline Youth Ministry, a name the church chose to reflect the idea of being on the frontlines of God's work in the lives of young people. The two primary goals of Frontline come straight from the Great Commission: evangelism (Go Wide, making disciples of every nation) and discipleship (Grow Deep, teaching them to obey everything Christ commanded). A central purpose of the ministry is to come alongside and empower parents as the primary faith influencers of their teenagers.
Andrew Stachofsky, the Administrative, Family, and Youth Pastor, leads the youth ministry alongside Adult Pastor John Underhill. Frontline holds regular gatherings, supports youth participation in UGM camps, and runs grant outreach and youth mission trips funded by the Youth Outreach fund.
Young Adults, Men, and Women
The Young Adult Christian (YAC) Group meets on Monday evenings from 6:00 to 8:15 PM, September through June. Open to anyone roughly 18 to 28 years old, including young adults from other churches and those not yet connected to a church, the group provides a full dinner each week at no cost. The purpose is simple: to be a community of like-minded Christians who share, care, grow, laugh, encourage, and reflect together on where God may be leading.
The Men's Ministry centers on the Friday Morning Bible Study led by Bill Stachofsky in the Fellowship Hall at 6:30 AM, currently working through the book of Ephesians. The men also gather for Saturday morning breakfasts in the Fellowship Hall several times a year and have periodic retreats at Riverview Bible Camp.
The Women's Ministry gathers in several smaller groups. Ancient Words, a Friday morning study through 1 and 2 Peter and Jude with childcare provided, begins at 9:15 AM. A Tuesday afternoon study on the Gospel of Matthew meets at 1:00 PM in Room 201. Other regular groups include the Quilting Group (first and third Mondays at 9:30 AM in the West Wing), Chix With Stix (first Monday evenings October through May), and Better Together, a widows' and single ladies' fellowship that meets on the second Saturday of each month.
Missions at Home and Around the World
Twenty percent of South Hill Bible Church's total budget goes to missions. The church supports more than 20 missionary families and outreach organizations, both foreign and domestic.
Internationally, SHBC partners with missionaries serving in Mexico (Frank and Rebecca Arellanes with FIM, Ted and Priscilla Clark with CMML), the Asia Pacific (Darcy Berglund and Evan and Nicole Garrett with Ethnos360 and Ethnos360 Aviation), Africa (Baden and Liz Fosse with AIM), the Philippines (John and Donna McMath with FIM), India (Ajay Pillai with India N.I. Mission), Mozambique (Pete and Charity Rogers with Ethnos360), Canada (Brian and Sally Seim with SIM), Thailand (Tim and Jill Stewart with RCE International), and Paraguay (John and Barb Windler with Partners For Paraguay).
Domestically, the church supports Alaska missionaries Kylor and Tabitha Schultz with MARC and Mike and Kathy Uno with CRU, along with three Spokane-based ministries: Christ Kitchen, Life Services, and Union Gospel Mission. SHBC also runs its own food pantry as part of its community outreach.
The church periodically sends members on short-term mission trips, hosts visiting missionaries when they are in Spokane, and encourages attendance at mission conferences and courses such as Perspectives on the World Christian Movement.
The Building and the Future
The South Hill campus continues to expand. The main building includes the Sanctuary (seating 254), a Balcony (seating 20), the Fellowship Hall (seating 226, often used as an overflow reception area), Rooms 203-204, a Library, the West Wing with three classrooms, several smaller classrooms, and the Mission Field and Patio outside.
In 2014 the leadership committed to retiring all church debt, an effort called Snowball Sundays in which a fifth-Sunday offering above regular giving built momentum like a snowball. The debt was retired in April 2017, and SHBC became a debt-free church. The fifth-Sunday offering continues today as Vision Sundays, funding a detailed Vision Expansion plan that touches four areas: discipleship growth, missions expansion, facility and infrastructure improvements, and church body expansion.
Planned facility improvements include a Fellowship Hall roof repair, multi-phase parking lot expansion, sanctuary audio and video upgrades, an entry-way enclosure, foyer modernization, and painting. Church body expansion plans include adding a second worship service when the Fellowship Hall overflow consistently exceeds 100 people, exploring a church plant in the Perry District near Grant Elementary School, and considering alternative service times for different groups.
Leadership and Pastoral Search
Senior Pastor John Underhill has served SHBC since August 2011. A pastor's son with a Dallas Seminary education, he preaches and teaches with a focus on global missions and has taught for the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement course. He and his wife Carolyn have three adult children.
Andrew Stachofsky serves as the Administrative, Family, and Youth Pastor, overseeing Frontline Youth Ministry and supporting families across the congregation. He and his wife Koola have three daughters.
The Board of Elders includes Peter Springs (Chairman), Clark Cosby (Vice-Chair), and Jim Schroeder, with Lawrence Hudson also serving as an elder. Staff supporting the ministry team includes Annie Hudson (Financial Administrator), Karla Roshetko (Office Manager), Lois Christensen (Administrative Assistant), and Amy Klossner, who directs the Kids and Youth Choirs and serves on the worship team.
In the fall of 2026 the Elders announced an active search for the next Senior Pastor. A Search Committee has been formed, a Senior Pastor Profile and Job Description have been prepared, and résumés are being accepted at Search@shbcspokane.org. The search is being conducted alongside the ongoing ministry of the church.
Getting Involved and Giving
SHBC lists more than 50 discipleship and service ministries on its volunteer page, ranging from AWANA leadership, Children's ministry, Nursery, and Sunday School to coffee setup, the SHBC Library, Greeters, Ushers, the Safety Team, Technology, the Custodial Team, Music and Worship, the Deacons and Deaconesses, and partnerships with Union Gospel Mission and Life Services. Care ministry includes transportation, hospitalization, and visitation for seniors and shut-ins, and a Card ministry reaches out to those who need encouragement.
Giving supports a General Fund (covering facilities, administration, missions, ministries, and staff salaries), a Deacons' Fund for benevolence inside the church, a Youth Outreach fund, and several Vision funds for capital expansion. The annual budget is approved each July at the Congregational Meeting. Giving is accepted in person during Sunday services or through the office during the week, and online giving is available through the church's giving page.
For prayer requests and praise reports, the church maintains an online form. Members can also stay connected through the Instant Church Directory photo directory, available online and as a mobile app.